Forums deliver variety of ideas
WHO are we and what do we hope to achieve?
Our Facebook group ( nearing 12,000 members in five months) has a very focused agenda. We have no partisan allegiance. Partisan politics has had long enough to fix our water woes – and failed. We are unpaid volunteers committed to communitydriven activism to have Townsville’s long- standing water insecurity resolved.
We are adamantly apolitical but we are also voters and those who are elected must be held accountable for decisions that have led us to this unenviable dry argument.
If the basics are not firmly embedded in long and short- term planning and funding submissions, they become lost in the buzz of loftier ideals.
The bottom line is that no project, environment, community or economy can thrive without water security. Fortunately for Townsville the problem is not proximity to plentiful water. The Burdekin can offer a continuous supply that sees an end to Level 3 restrictions permanently.
WFTAG is working with the City Deal Water Taskforce. We are optimistic that their report on June 30 will see the best ( not necessarily the cheapest) infrastructure identified, funded and fast- tracked. WFTAG submitted 11 options, the result of work by our technical group.
Google WATER FOR TOWNSVILLE ACTION GROUP to join and be part of the solution. TOWNSVILLE residents have weighed in on how the city’s water security could be solved with 68 submissions lodged with the local taskforce.
It comes after hundreds of anxious residents attended three community forums last month to discuss Townsville’s ongoing water woes.
Submissions officially closed last Friday with the Townsville Water Taskforce now to assess the documents before compiling an interim report for the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk by June 30.
Chairman Brad Webb said given the tight time frame that residents had to submit ideas, the four- person intergovernmental taskforce was “comfortable” with how many they had received.
“There has been a broad range of ideas provided from the community,” he said.
“There were some new suggestions as well as reinforcement of existing ideas and solutions.”
When asked about the lack of specific funding for Townsville’s water security in the Federal Budget, Mr Webb said he could not comment.
“We are not in a position to be able to speculate about funding for any recommendations that may be made in the interim report,” Mr Webb said.
“However all levels of government have assured us of their commitment to this process and so far they have delivered everything that has been asked of them, starting with the country’s first ever City Deal.”
The taskforce also includes Townsville City Council CEO Adele Young, state Energy and Water Supply Department director- general Paul Simshauser and the federal Agriculture and Water Resources Department’s Adam Sincock.
It will next meet on May 24 to review the submissions and deliberate on preparations for the interim report.